Former President Trump issued a statement on Thursday backing Dr. Mehmet Oz over Kathy Barnette in the Republican Senate primary in Pennsylvania.
“Kathy Barnette will never be able to win the General Election against the Radical Left Democrats,” Trump said in a statement. “Dr. Oz is the only one who will be able to easily defeat the Crazed, Lunatic Democrat in Pennsylvania.”
However, while Trump said that parts of Barnette’s record were not “properly explained or vetted,” she could have a “wonderful future in the Republican Party.”
NEW!
President Donald J. Trump:
“…Dr. Oz is the only one who will be able to easily defeat the Crazed, Lunatic Democrat in Pennsylvania. A vote for anyone else in the Primary is a vote against Victory in the Fall!” pic.twitter.com/l2nR93wAP1
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) May 12, 2022
Trump endorsed Oz in April, saying the candidate “has lived with us through the screen and has always been popular, respected and smart.” Trump’s Thursday statement comes amid a close race in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary, with recent polls giving Dr. Oz a slim lead over competitors before the vote on May 17.
An InsiderAdvantage/FOX 29 Philadelphia poll released on Tuesday found that among 750 likely voters for the GOP primary, 22.5 percent backed Oz, 20.9 percent backed Barnette, and another 18.5 percent supported businessman Dave McCormick. A separate Fox News poll released on Monday found that out of 1,001 primary voters, 22 percent backed Oz, 20 percent backed McCormick, and 19 percent backed Barnette.
Barnette, who would be the first black woman elected to the Senate from Pennsylvania if she is successful, has surged in polling in recent weeks. Barnette has expressed pro-life views and released a video detailing how her mother chose to give birth to her after she was raped. However, Barnette has repeatedly made anti-Muslim and anti-LGBT comments on social media and in segments of her radio show.
Oz, meanwhile, was booed at a rally for himself led by the former president last week.